Will contingent maternal responding to nondistress infant crying lead to a subsequent decrease in that crying (as the 1972 Bell & Ainsworth conclusion has led many to expect) or will it lead to a crying-rate increase (as instrumental-learning theory would expect)? Subjects were 10- to 12-week-old normal infants. Infant lay on floor, alone in room with door ajar. The cry response (fuss or cry) unit was defined as a shrill or whiney vocalization, 5 sec. long, accompanied by a facial grimace. Under noncontingent responding, mother entered the lab routinely to visit infant, provided it was not crying. Under contingent responding, mother's visits were contingent on infant's 5-sec. cries. Number of maternal 10-sec. visits (i.e., stimulus density) was comparable under both treatments. Mother acted naturally, but did not pick up infant. The Contingent mean cries-per-minute (2.0) was found greater at p less than .01 than the Noncontingent mean (0.1). Therefore, maternal responding contingent on infant cries increased the cry rate as expected under instrumental-learning theory. This result has implications for caregiver management of infant crying. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE: Gewirtz, J. L. Maternal responding and the conditioing of infant crying: Directions of influence within the attachment-acquisition process. In Etzel, B. C., LeBlanc, J.M., & Baer, D. M. (Eds.), New Developments in Behavioral Research: Theory, Method, and Application. Hillsdale, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates, 1977, Pp. 31-57.